Gansu
Gansu is an inland province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
Gansu
甘肃 | |
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Province | |
| Province of Gansu | |
(clockwise from top)
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Map showing the location of Gansu Province | |
| Coordinates: 38°N 102°E | |
| Country | China |
| Named for | 甘 gān: Ganzhou District, Zhangye 肃/肅 sù: Suzhou District, Jiuquan |
| Capital (and largest city) | Lanzhou |
| Divisions | 14 prefectures, 86 counties, 1344 townships |
| Government | |
| • Type | Province |
| • Body | Gansu Provincial People's Congress |
| • CCP Secretary | Hu Changsheng |
| • Congress chairman | Hu Changsheng |
| • Governor | Ren Zhenhe |
| • CPPCC chairman | Zhuang Guotai |
| Area | |
| • Total | 453,700 km2 (175,200 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 7th |
| Highest elevation | 5,830 m (19,130 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 25,019,831 |
| • Rank | 22nd |
| • Density | 55/km2 (140/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 27th |
| Demographics | |
| • Ethnic composition | Han: 91% Hui: 5% Dongxiang: 2% Tibetan: 2% |
| • Languages and dialects | Zhongyuan Mandarin, Lanyin Mandarin, Amdo Tibetan |
| GDP | |
| • Total | CN¥ 1.024 trillion US$ 159 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 41,137 US$ 6,375 |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-GS |
| HDI (2019) | 0.687 medium · 29th |
| Website | Gansu.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese) |
| Gansu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Gansu" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 甘肃 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 甘肅 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Gan (zhou) and Su (zhou)" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tibetan name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tibetan | ཀན་སུའུ་ཞིང་ཆེན། | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mongolian name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Ганьсү муж | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠭᠠᠨᠰᠤ ᠮᠤᠵᠢ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uyghur | گەنسۇ ئۆلكىسى | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kazakh name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kazakh | گانسۋ ولكەسى Ганьсу өлкесі Gansu ölkesi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at 453,700 square kilometres (175,200 sq mi), Gansu lies between the Tibetan and Loess plateaus and borders Mongolia's Govi-Altai Province, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. Part of Gansu's territory is located in the Gobi Desert. The Qilian mountains are located in the south of the Province.
Gansu has a population of 26 million, ranking 22nd in China. Its population is mostly Han, along with Hui, Dongxiang and Tibetan minorities. The most common language is Mandarin. Gansu is among the poorest administrative divisions in China, ranking 31st, last place, in GDP per capita as of 2019.
The state of Qin originated in what is now southeastern Gansu, and later established the first imperial dynasty in Chinese history. The Northern Silk Road ran through the Hexi Corridor, which passes through Gansu, resulting in it being an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire.
The city of Jiayuguan, the second most populated city in Gansu, is known for its section of the Great Wall and the Jiayuguan Pass fortress complex.